


there's a lightning in your eyes i can't deny

by alittlebitoftheuniverse



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, First Meetings, M/M, Tattoo Artist Molly, Tattoos, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 08:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16260917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlebitoftheuniverse/pseuds/alittlebitoftheuniverse
Summary: The first thing that caught his attention was the very large woman behind the counter, sketching something with one of the many pens scattered around the countertop. Interestingly, she didn’t seem to have any tattoos herself, at least none where Caleb could see. She looked up when he walked in, offering a smile. “Need any help?”“Oh…” Caleb swallowed, then shook his head quickly. “No, no, I’m just browsing.”“Ah!” came a voice from behind one of the curtains leading to back rooms. “I was hoping I’d see you again.”~Caleb has been walking by the tattoo parlor every day since it opened. He finally gets up the nerve to go in and meet his fancy new neighbor.





	there's a lightning in your eyes i can't deny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MinkyForShort](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinkyForShort/gifts).



> This is based on @minky-for-short's drawings on tumblr, go check her out!  
> Caleb's tattoo idea was inspired by @secondary2mary on tumblr!

 It wasn’t the first time Caleb had walked by the tattoo parlor and thought about going in. It hadn’t been open long, a couple of months at the most, but he liked to walk by it as he headed back to the flat above his shop. It always looked warm and inviting, and the pride flags outside the window made him smile. He’d made it all the way to the doorstep once, but he couldn’t quite make himself go in, instead hurrying home with the bag of groceries he’d gotten for himself and Nott.

He tried to tell himself nothing had changed to make him even more determined to make it inside, but that would be a lie. It was almost entirely because the tiefling owner of the shop had ventured across the street earlier, right into Caleb’s bookstore. He’d introduced himself as Mollymauk Tealeaf, giving a little flourish as he did so. He was looking for some art books, which Nott had directed him to when Caleb had been too flustered by his extravagant appearance to do more than gesture vaguely toward the shelves. He’d been furious with himself afterward, and promised himself he would go into that brightly colored shop across the street that evening if it killed him.

Not to say that he hadn’t dawdled and found a million things that he definitely needed to be doing instead, everything from washing the windows to polishing the tables to checking every single shelf to make sure all the books were in order, first by subject and then by author. Nott had sat behind the counter, her eyes boring into the back of the skull until he’d finally mumbled that he was going to go for a walk, and she was smiling when he left and she flipped the sign on the door to ‘Closed.’ Caleb figured she might be watching from their shop windows, no doubt waiting for him to actually get up the nerve to go into the parlor, and that thought was what made him march up the steps and open the door.

The first thing that caught his attention was the very large woman behind the counter, sketching something with one of the many pens scattered around the countertop. Interestingly, she didn’t seem to have any tattoos herself, at least none where Caleb could see. She looked up when he walked in, offering a smile. “Need any help?”

“Oh…” Caleb swallowed, then shook his head quickly. “No, no, I’m just browsing.”

“Ah!” came a voice from behind one of the curtains leading to back rooms. “I was hoping I’d see you again.”

And there he was, Mollymauk Tealeaf. He was the most eye-catching being Caleb thought he had ever seen, and rightfully so. Warm red eyes and long curly hair, his enormous horns hanging with so much gold jewelry Caleb couldn’t see how he held his head up. His skin was a rich violet, covered in so many tattoos peeking out from below his sleeves and above his shirt color, the most obvious one a peacock with feathers stretching right up his neck. Caleb wondered if that had been a nod to Mollymauk’s own ostentatious appearance.

“You were?” Caleb asked, letting Mollymauk shake his hand, gazing at Caleb with his eyes bright and glowing, like he was already mentally designing what kind of ink he should get.

“Of course!” the tiefling beamed, revealing his pointed teeth. “I was just telling Yasha there that I hoped the handsome shopkeeper across the street would pay me the honor of a visit.”

Caleb’s cheeks burned and he quickly cleared his throat, turning to the many designs framed on the wall. “Have you been doing this for a long time, Mollymauk?”

“Molly, please, for my friends. And I have, for as long as I can remember,” he said, his lips turning up into a smirk, like he had an inside joke with himself. “See anything you like?”

“I’m not sure,” Caleb murmured, wandering as he took in all the many sketches. “They’re all very nice.”

“Thank you!” Molly beamed, and was promptly hit in the back of the head with a wad of paper, Yasha raising an eyebrow pointedly when he turned to her. “Most of them are Yasha’s designs,” he admitted. “She’s got quite a gift, she could most likely make anything your heart desired.”

Caleb grinned at her, earning himself another soft smile in return as she continued to sketch, leaving him to wander aimlessly about the shop, admiring the designs as Molly chattered in his ear about how they hadn’t been in this city long but Yasha had visited once and liked it here, and business hadn’t been great in the small town they had come from, and of course, above all, Molly had just fancied a change.

He really hadn’t come in with the intention of getting a tattoo. He had never even considered the possibility before, had never seen the point in marking up his skin for the rest of his life, he already had burn scars for that. But then his eyes found something. A flower, shrouded in smoke but not shriveling. Far from it, it was actually opening proudly, flames rising from the center. He froze where he stood, Molly’s voice suddenly sounding much farther away, until he touched Caleb’s arm gently.

“She just did that one,” he said, smiling up at the framed sketch. “Who knows? Maybe it was meant for you.”

“I’ll take it.” The words were out of Caleb’s mouth before he realized they’d even entered his mind

Molly looked surprised for an instant, then beamed at him. “Coming right up, my friend! Come with me.”

Caleb followed him silently into the back room, where there was a chair, a table set up with Molly’s tools. He sat down, suddenly tense and nervous, even when Molly smiled kindly, opening a folder full of the same sketches, flipping open to the flower easily. “So where would you like it?” he asked breezily.

Caleb had to think about that one. “On…on my chest, I think.”

“Shirt off, if you don’t mind,” Molly hummed, starting to organize his tools. "Makes my job easier." Caleb knew he was blushing again, but he removed his scarf, then his coat, before finally pulling his sweater over his head, knowing all his scars were visible, from the shiny burn scars to the thin identical ones on his chest. Molly only gave him another bright smile, patting his arm. “I’ll talk to you the whole time, you won’t even feel a thing.”

Caleb smiled nervously. “If you say so.”

Molly was right, not that Caleb had really been doubting him. He found he barely felt the sting of the needle, instead losing himself in Molly’s voice, the sound of his jewelry tinkling gently as he moved his head. He smelled nice, something warm that Caleb couldn’t quite place. He didn’t say much himself, letting Molly babble on, not even really sure what he was saying. The voice by itself was helpful enough, keeping him grounded.

“You haven’t said much,” Molly commented casually, lifting his head, his face closer to Caleb’s than he’d thought. “Feeling any pain?”

“No,” Caleb murmured, offering a little smile. “None.”

Molly hummed, turning back to his work, but Caleb could see him smiling.

When Caleb got back home, much later than he’d expected, Nott had her arms crossed, but her hopeful smile was giving her away.

“Was he nice?” she asked, sitting forward in her chair eagerly.

“He was,” Caleb hummed, smiling to himself. “Talkative, but very nice.”

“Are you going to see him again?” Nott grinned.

“Maybe,” Caleb said thoughtfully. “If I need another tattoo.”

“I’m sorry— _another_ tattoo??”

“Nothing,” he called over his shoulder, heading for his room. “Goodnight, Nott!”

_“Caleb!”_


End file.
